Mealworms - are they worth the cost ? (1 Viewer)

Am posting this for advice , really.After many years of feeding my garden birds , I bought some dead mealworms .They certainly aren't cheap compared to fatballs,seed ,peanuts etc.
Anyway, despite trying various feeders,trays and just scattering on the ground, I've found the only birds that take them seem to be magpies ! Starlings had a go once,but they aren't regular in my garden.Am i doing something wrong or is this the same elsewhere ?

CB; I wouldn't know about the Mealworms (except that, yes, they Are horribly expensive!) Those magpies though; Want to keep them happy, on the cheap? Offer them minced beef.

I keep a pair here, in captivity, and they get through three pound of minced beef a week. As ye'd only be supplementing the wild ones diets, it'd be a fraction of that.

Incidentally; One of my robins has caught on ~ of course ~ and comes around the aviary every day for his bit ||

Maybe just give up the worms and feed raw mince then ....?

Have you tried reconstituting them with a little hot water?

(assuming these are dried and not dead by some other means)

John P said:

Have you tried reconstituting them with a little hot water?

(assuming these are dried and not dead by some other means)

Click to expand...

Not tried that , though the ones in the tray I put out certainly got a good drenching ! So you pour some hot water on them - do you then dry them off before putting them out ? I was surprised the thrushes and robins weren't interested.

I wouldn't worry about drying them off.

I don't know if it will make any difference but it's something I've seen suggested from sellers, including the RSPB. (some brief reviews on that page too)

I handfeed a robin that loves them and will pick them out from a handful of other seed and bits
But, other things don't seem to like them at all....

I put mine in hot water and soak them overnight and the blackbirds seem to love them.I also do the same with raisins and sultanas and they go pretty quick.
Wilkinsons and home bargains have tubs of mealworms for a couple of quid and they are ok.
I make my own fat balls and put crushed mealworms in there too.

My birding mate, Leon, feeds a pair of Pied Wagtails from the Postroom (where he works) at our hospital in Roehampton. He just bungs a small amount out every now and then. The male often tries to prevent the female from feeding but a judicious 'lob' usually makes sure that the 'bird gets the worm!'
It has been known for the birds to sit on the window ledge and 'ask' for some food, even to the point of actually coming just inside!
Merry Christmas all.

Back to these 'Dried' Mealworms ~ most any sort of mealworms, really; I looked at a tub of them yesterday. How Much?! :eek!: Made my eyes water, I can tell ye!

I was still torn though. IF they'd be good for my robin and pied wag', I'd get them some. But, I went away to ponder all this .....

Those things are commercially bred, right? And they're basically reared on a diet of Bran. Then they're " Dried " to death? Don't know how that's done. But, I can't see it adding much to the things. Can you?

I'm talking about Nutritional Value here. Any body know?

I bred various amphibians, for years. One tends to feed those on meal worms, crickets and such. Commercially bred ones. And the craic was to feed them a drop of 'SA37', multi vitamin powder, to ensure the thing that ate them, in turn, got more than a 'bread and water' sort of diet out of them.

See what I'm saying? Is there actually much more to these dry, dead mealworms than husks?